After the Divorce, I Ended Up with My Ex-Husband’s "White Moonlight" [Transmigration] - Chapter 21

“Is your daily life really… harder than this?” Qin Shi couldn’t finish her sentence. She never expected that behind the bright smile of the woman before her lay such a difficult life.

In the past, Qin Shi had never taken the initiative to learn about Lu Mingze’s wife. To her, if they had met, Ning Qi would have been no different from all the other socialite wives she had encountered. But now it was different; she had come to know Ning Qi personally over the past few days.

“Actually,” Ning Qi scratched her head, feeling a bit flustered. This was not the reaction she had anticipated. “What I said just now was a bit of an exaggeration. My life is… it’s actually quite alright.”

Heaven knows, I didn’t say that to win sympathy! Ning Qi wondered if there was something wrong with her delivery. Seeing the pained, sympathetic look in Qin Shi’s eyes, she found herself at a loss for words.

“It seems—it seems it’s almost noon,” Ning Qi looked up, suddenly finding a perfect excuse to change the subject. “Qin Shi, do you have other plans for lunch?”

If you do, I won’t take up any more of your precious time. After all, Qin Shi is busy every day. Even though it’s Saturday, she probably isn’t free, right?

“No,” Qin Shi said without hesitation. She turned back to Ning Qi and asked, “Do you have something to do?”

“No, not really.” Ning Qi shook her head blankly. She had absolutely nothing to do, but at this moment, she desperately wished she had.

“Then, are you going to treat me to lunch?” Qin Shi glanced at the clock and asked suddenly.

“Huh?” Ning Qi was even more stunned.

Even as they walked into the supermarket, Ning Qi was still in a daze. When Qin Shi mentioned eating, even if Ning Qi didn’t know how to refuse, she shouldn’t have dug a hole for herself!

There were so many restaurants outside; why did they have to choose this “suicidal” path? She couldn’t cook at all! If she served those dishes she usually fried up, her image would be completely ruined.

“Qin Shi,” Ning Qi said, filled with regret as she called out to the person walking slightly ahead of her. “Actually, we don’t need to go through all this trouble. Whatever you want to eat, we can just find it at a restaurant.”

“What do you think?” Ning Qi asked cautiously, trying to get her companion to change her mind.

“No,” Qin Shi shook her head. “I forgot to tell you last time, but I actually prefer home-cooked food. Besides, since your life is already so… difficult, I would feel quite bad letting you take me out to eat.”

Is that so? Ning Qi was confused. Wait, Qin Shi hadn’t just eaten out with her before; she had eaten out with Lu Mingze too. Furthermore, if the goal was to save Ning Qi money, Qin Shi could just treat her instead! Why did they have to cook? Especially since Ning Qi wasn’t exactly short on cash now!

“What’s wrong?” Seeing that Ning Qi hadn’t kept up, Qin Shi turned around to find her standing there dazed, pushing the cart. Qin Shi stopped and asked, “Aren’t you coming?”

“Coming,” Ning Qi replied listlessly. Fine. Since the person involved doesn’t mind her cooking, why should she? She wouldn’t be the only one eating it anyway.

With that thought, Ning Qi quickly caught up. She decided to buy more groceries. It was rare to find someone willing to taste her terrible cooking—especially someone who had already heard how bad it was!

The moment Qin Shi turned around, she allowed a slight smile to grace her lips. As they reached the vegetable section, Ning Qi asked, “Qin Shi, what do you like to eat?”

“Anything is fine,” Qin Shi replied.

“Anything?” In 그 case, Ning Qi wasn’t going to be polite. She grabbed a bag and began picking out vegetables.

“Tomatoes,” Ning Qi whispered to herself. She had just learned how to make soup a few days ago. Although her skills were lacking, soup was essential for a meal, so she might as well buy some.

Just then, Ning Qi heard whispering from the people around them. “Is it her?” “I think so.” “But… why would she come here?” “Why couldn’t she? I…”

The voices grew faint. Ning Qi only heard snippets, but she suddenly realized they were talking about Qin Shi. “You really are popular wherever you go!”

“What are you saying?” Qin Shi walked over and asked.

“Oh, it’s nothing major.” Ning Qi pointed toward the people nearby. “It just seems you have some little fans over there.”

“It’s fine.” Qin Shi was likely long accustomed to such scenes. She calmly returned a smile toward them, and immediately, Ning Qi heard suppressed but incredibly excited voices:

“Ahhh! She smiled!” “She smiled at us!” “We’re so lucky today!”

“I think we should leave,” Ning Qi said, noticing the staff members were starting to stare at them. It really has nothing to do with me! At most, I’m just an extra; their eyes are all on Qin Shi!

At the checkout counter, Ning Qi noticed Qin Shi was holding a bag containing meat. “Qin Shi, I don’t know how to cook meat dishes.”

“Oh,” Qin Shi acknowledged, placing it on the counter with the other items.

“I really don’t know how!” Ning Qi reached out to stop the bag. If she couldn’t cook it, wouldn’t it be a total waste?

Perhaps her movements were too frantic, because the cashier asked, “Excuse me, Miss, is there a problem?”

“No,” Qin Shi said.

“Alright, that will be XX yuan.” The cashier quickly quoted the total with a smile. Ning Qi had her payment code ready and paid the bill. As they walked out the door, she didn’t forget to emphasize: “I really can’t cook it.”

“I know.”

You know, yet you still bought it? Ning Qi wanted to ask, but she felt eyes on them again—likely the same people from before. She couldn’t worry about it for long.

She didn’t like being the center of attention at all, even if she was just the “background” to the main attraction. Without another word, Ning Qi grabbed Qin Shi’s hand to run.

However, Qin Shi didn’t move. Her gaze fell upon Ning Qi’s hand. Noticing she wasn’t moving, Ning Qi realized what she had done. Although they had talked and chatted many times over the last few days, they hadn’t met in person often, let alone had physical contact.

It felt a bit inappropriate. In Ning Qi’s memory, Sister Mu had told her to maintain a certain social distance unless they were in an intimate relationship.

“I’m sorry! I just thought—”

“I know,” Qin Shi said of her own accord. “Let’s head back.”

The supermarket was within the residential complex and very close to Ning Qi’s place. Within a few minutes, they were home. Once inside, Ning Qi let out a sigh of relief. She decided she’d better not walk with Qin Shi in crowded places again!

“Do you have trypophobia?” Qin Shi asked.

“No,” Ning Qi replied.

“Then why just now?”

“I’m just not used to it.” She used to long for crowded places, but she’d had few opportunities to experience them, so she was a bit overwhelmed. “Every time you go out, it’s like that. Don’t you find it…?”

“They won’t be a disturbance,” Qin Shi said.

“Your fans are quite well-behaved then!” Ning Qi smiled. She had seen “crazy” celebrity fans online before; she didn’t expect there were people who would just watch quietly or take a photo at most.

Ning Qi thought that if Qin Shi entered the entertainment industry, the scene would be… Wait, Qin Shi wouldn’t do that! She had a family fortune to inherit!

“Qin Shi, what are you doing?” Why was she taking the groceries into the kitchen?

“Come here,” Qin Shi called out.

“Coming~” Ning Qi chirped, her feet moving as fast as her voice. She ran over quickly. “Qin Shi, you can just sit there and wait. In about…” she checked the time, “…about an hour, I’ll have the food ready. Probably.”

“Then start the rice now.”

“Oh, alright.” Ning Qi squatted down. She kept the rice in the lower cabinet. Usually, she ate alone, but now there was another person. “Qin Shi, how much do you usually eat?”

Fearing Qin Shi wouldn’t have a frame of reference, Ning Qi grabbed a bowl from the cupboard—the one she usually used—and held it up. “A bowl like this!”

She was still squatting and hadn’t stood up, so she couldn’t see the expression on Qin Shi’s face. It took a moment before she heard Qin Shi’s reply: “Two bowls.”

Ning Qi prepared the rice and began washing it. She felt a bit relieved; for once, she didn’t have to cook “extra” rice just to make the rice cooker work properly. Being alone, even with the smallest rice cooker, she often had to make more than she could eat.

As she finished with the rice, she realized Qin Shi had already started preparing the dishes. Her mind flashed back to what the fans had said: “It’s impossible for ‘Sister’ to be here,” and “She needs to eat too, right?”

Ning Qi felt a wave of panic. Can you imagine the cold, “White Moonlight” goddess from a book cooking in your kitchen?

It didn’t feel right. “Qin Shi, let me do it. Didn’t we agree I was treating you? Besides, you’re at my house; it’s not right to make the guest cook.”

“Is it not right?”

“Of course not,” Ning Qi replied firmly. Even with her lack of social experience, she knew you didn’t keep a guest busy in the kitchen.

“I am not a guest.”

“Then what are you?” Ning Qi was confused.

Qin Shi paused for a moment. “Didn’t you say we were friends?”

“Right.” Ning Qi nodded without blinking.

She then watched as Qin Shi continued her work as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Ning Qi had never had a friend; the word “friendship” was entirely foreign to her.

She only knew that Qin Shi was the one person who had been very kind to her since she arrived in this world. Coupled with the fact that they were both “cannon fodder” in the original story, she was naturally willing to be close to her.

“Besides,” Qin Shi added, “you are teaching my cousin. That makes you her little teacher.”

What does one have to do with the other?

“Does trying to please the teacher count for nothing?”